XVIII Questions-Can it be saved?

[mattrx]

The seller bought it at an auction this past fall and paid $80 for it. He did not know how it got broken, but was told it had been dropped. It looks to have been dropped on the left front corner, because that is where most of the damage was done. Broken wood on that corner piece, but not thru the carvings. Broken base board in the bottom. Damaged rear door on same side as the front damage, as though it were dropped on a curb, or other raised object. The right side is good, but has been stripped, so the entire machine would need to be refinished. The lid and turntable area are all good, except the needle holder is missing. The two right corners (front and back) are both good. The rear left corner is in good shape, just not attached to the machine....a mess, but and interesting mess. We'll see..

[fmblizz]

Very very time consuming project.

Unless you have extensive woodworking skills as well as refinishing skills you will never be happy with the final results.

You can easily part it out and actually make money on your investment.. Key, tonearm, motor,misc hardware. Actually the entire lid looks to be in good shape and I'm sure there are collectors out there that would purchase it.

Do yourself a favor and find an easier project.

My 2 cents.

Blizz

[martinola]

I understand where fmblizz is coming from and yet, were it me, I'd take it on as an "every-once-in-a-while" project. What do you have to lose? This is really an opportunity to get very good at several restoration skills and potentially save a cool machine. You will become intimate with the uses of different glues, clamps and the like. Stuff like Abitron's WoodEpox will be your friend. (Great stuff!) You will become skilled in shellac finishes and hiding repairs with an artist's brush. It won't ever be pristine again, but I'd bet it'll be good enough to display and use. (If not, I suppose you could make a shabby-chic sink stand out of it... ) Should you decide to continue, keep us posted with photos of the process.

Regards,
Martin

[mattrx]

I have decided to get it back together structurally and see what I have and if it can be made to look acceptable. Today I re-attached both of the left side legs/corners to the left side (front and back. Tomorrow, I plan to attach the left side and reinstall all the doors. Lots of wood glue and gorilla glue today. I also used dowels to attach the legs/corners. They seem pretty solid for now. The big test will be tomorrow once the side is re-attached.

[estott]

It looks as if someone really ruined the finish, but otherwise the pieces are OK. Did everything just come apart at the joints or was there any major breakage?

The bad finish might work in your favor- refinishing will give you more opportunity to hide any damage.

[mattrx]

It took a while tonight, but I got it standing and all front doors installed. Will Post pics tomorrow. Looks better. Looking more like a keeper, than a "parter outer" at this point. I will post more pics and let you know.

Just a side note, gorilla glue is your friend......if you treat it right. Strong stuff...

I need a motor, horn, crank, escutcheon, and tone arm. I will post on yankee trader for those items. I also need the upper back cover. I have the two back doors- installed tomorrow-but I need the upper access pannel and then a horn. A little pricey, but I can wait for a good deal. I have a little to trade...

Anyway, away we go in the the great unknown! We will see where this particular rabbit hole leads!

Matt

[mattrx]

The sides and doors are now back on. Estott, it was mostly broken at the joints, but there are some places with other wood damage. I may be able to make it look decent. I have a lot to learn, but I am gonna try.

[estott]

Bravo! Aside from the ruined finish on the right this looks very good. Thank you for resisting the suggestions to part this out.

I suspect the horn from an XVI would fit, or an XVII - though those aren't going to turn up every day. The tone arm and motor were standard stuff so all you need is a motor that lines up with the crank hole. As usual, George Vollema will probably have everything you need.

[gemering]

I echo the comments of estott.
Bravo!
You've already come a long way!
Very best of luck with the rest of the restoration.
-Gene

[phonojim]

Excellent work! An XVIII is always a machine worth saving if at all possible. As for the horn, the XVIII is slightly smaller than some of the other high end machines, so you could have to modify one to make it fit. I still had my XVIII, I would take some pics and measurements for you. Perhaps someone else on here could do that.

Good luck.

Jim